Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Ethics in Journalism Ethics in Journalism Nancy Durham is a freelance video journalist for CBC, cable news, and British Channel 4, to name a few. Her journalistic objective is to “make viewers care about ordinary people trapped in wars”. While investigating the Balkan area, she met an 18 year old girl named Rajmonda that was recovering in a hospital from the trauma of seeing her sister, Quendressa, killed in a Serb attack. She expressed to Durham how she was thinking about joining the KLA. By the request of the news stations, Durham returns to KLA headquarters to do a set of follow-ups on Rajmonda. This is how Durham finds that Rajmonda not only lied and was already a member of the KLA before she met the reporter, but her sister is in fact alive and well. Nancy Durham’s story had been reported in three different countries and more than once. How could she effectively remain a credible journalist while still holding her vow to help those “trapped in war”? Should Nancy run(ignore the fact that her story is false) or should she stay and face it? See Nancy run. Nancy Durham can now be accused of deceiving the public and fabricating the facts, even if it was mainly Rajmonda’s abuse of the publicity she granted to her. She has a duty as a journalist to “truth in reporting”, which defines the lack of accuracy and research in her depiction of war in the Balkan area. Nancy Durham could completely ignore the mistakes she made in hopes that it would fall out of the news. But then she would be constantly worried that interested news stations would appoint another journalist to follow-up on her story, hence, exposing her inaccuracies. See Nancy fall. Her fleeing of the dilemma, could be the very thing that signifies her guilt and lack of honesty. German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a believer in “truth for truth”, would say that the masses have a right to know that they have been deceived by the journalist’s lack of research and the lies of the subject involved, regardless of the consequences it may bring. In this case, the consequences are Nancy Durham’s reputation, which has been regarded with great respect up until this point, and the audience’s view of the severity of the war. The audience may lose sympathy for the people hurt by the war in finding that Rajmonda exaggerated her story to gain On the other side of the spectrum, teleologist John Stuart Mill, views the consequences as a vital importance if it is for the “greater good”. The consequences in this situation, being lack of support for a worthy cause, could do damage to many of the families living with the war. They would not be considered reputable and their pain and suffering would therefore be undermined by the lies of one KLA solider. Mill’s goal would be to minimize harm for the larger number of people, which is, in the end, these families. In weighing what your decision would be if enthralled in this dilemma, a good view to consider would be that of ethicist Sessila Bok. She believes that although truthfulness does not make a lie right, it may have been necessary in certain situations. For example, Rajomonda may have not lost her sister in the war, but in fact, she witnessed many people lose family members. She saw their pain and they became her “family”, as she states in one encounter with Durham. She had the opportunity to tell their stories and possibly gain support for them, so she took the chance that had been given to her. She took this opening for the good of her country. Ultimately, ethicist Bok believes that every reporter should be given the chance to speak their side of the story and justify why they themselves or their subjects may have stretched the truth. As integrity is important in any profession, it is essential in journalism. Nancy Durham must admit her work was not properly researched. By referring to the three principles involved with the conflicts of interest, she must realize that she did not avoid this conflict by adequately investigating her sources, so in turn, she must acknowledge her wrongdoing and make an effort to Being a supporter of compromise, the best way to come to a conclusion to this predicament is to encompass Aristotle’s Golden Mean theory. This advises that the answer “lies between the extremes”. I f she ignores her mistakes and keeps on reporting without telling the public the truth, they may find out and not only will she no longer be credible, but she will be unemployed. If she exposes her story as “untrue”, she could face the same conviction. She is in fact admitting she is not reputable. This is where Bok’s view comes in. She must have the integrity to admit her mistake, but at the same time she deserves to justify why these lies were pertinent to her subject. She also deserves the opportunity to explain to her readers and viewers how difficult it is to research sources in a war ridden land. She also has an obligation to Rajmonda to illustrate the cause of her exaggeration. Durham should tell the audience how it was for a good cause...for the good of her people, “her family”. This also supports Mill’s perspective. Rajmonda did this for the “greater good” of her people...it doesn’t make a difference that she lied. “The ends justifies the means” Clearly, she did it to bring awareness to the forgetting outside world. Even if it isn’t her story, it is someone else’s story. Nancy Durham must write a follow-up article stating the truth, but bringing recognition to the fact that Rajmonda had no other choice but to lie. This way not passing the buck onto Rajmonda, a young girl who has obviously been through a lot. By doing this, Nancy Durham remains employed and Rajmonda sustains the public’s sympathy and support. Bibliography: None necessary Word Count: 1007
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